Court Clears EPA to Resume Clean Water Act Protections for Bristol Bay
November 03, 2021
Friday marked a crucial step forward in providing permanent protection to the Bristol Bay watershed as the Federal District Court officially cleared the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reinitiate the Clean Water Act 404(c) process that would allow for the agency to protect Bristol Bay. In this decision resolving the lawsuit Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation et al. v. Pirzadeh et al. the court vacated the previous decision by the Trump administration to withdraw proposed protections for Bristol Bay and remanded the action back to the agency to resume the process. With this court case finally settled, the Biden administration and EPA can now resume the 404(c) process to permanently Bristol Bay which produces more than 50% of the world’s supply of wild-caught sockeye salmon, supports tens of thousands of jobs, and is home to some of the last intact salmon-based tribal communities in the world. “The specter of a massive open-pit mine and waste dump has been looming over the biggest, wildest, most productive sockeye salmon run on the planet for long enough. Pebble threatens livelihoods. It threatens salmon. And it threatens people,” said SalmonState Executive Director Tim Bristol. “Now that the courts have put the ball back in the EPA’s court, it’s up to the EPA to listen to its scientists and to Alaskans, to finish the job, and to end the threat of the proposed Pebble Mine before the salmon return.” Over a decade after Bristol Bay’s tribes, fishermen, and millions of Americans initially called on the EPA to finalize protection for Bristol Bay, an end to this battle is finally on the horizon. Bristol Bay’s Tribes and fishermen are calling on this administration to finish the job and complete the 404(c) process by June 2022. “The court's action officially clears the path for EPA and the Biden Administration to fulfill their commitments to protect Bristol Bay. The science is clear and overwhelming - development of the Pebble Mine would irreversibly damage the Bristol Bay watershed, the greatest salmon stronghold left on earth and tens of thousands of people who depend on it for their livelihoods,” said Katherine Carscallen, Executive Director of Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay . Carscallen said, “Bristol Bay’s Tribes and fishermen have spent decades fighting to protect their way of life and a $2 billion sustainable economy, it’s time to finally end this threat. EPA must act with urgency, applying the Clean Water Act to veto Pebble Mine before the next summer fishing season.” Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay joins partners in this call including United Tribes of Bristol Bay, who has urged the administration to “Finish the Job,” throughout the year, and the agency's announcement comes after letters and ads requesting action from stakeholders across the political spectrum, including Tribes , sport and commercial fishermen , conservationists , and others. The 404(c) ‘veto’ is a critical part of the strategy to provide permanent protection that also includes the goal of Congressional legislation to further codify protections of this special place. The Tribal-led fight to protect Bristol Bay began more than a decade ago in response to the proposed Pebble Mine located at the Bay’s headwaters. Pebble Mine would be the largest open-pit mine in North America, producing more than 10 billion tons of toxic waste that will remain there forever. In spite of record runs as reported in the New York Times , Bristol Bay remains at risk from the dangerous Pebble Mine. Northern Dynasty Minerals CEO Ron Thiessen — the head of the company behind the Pebble Mine proposal — recently said “we have by no means given up on this project” amid bipartisan public opposition. EPA’s action provides hope that this threat will not loom over the region indefinitely. This time, however, the job must be finished.
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